Herleven Heavy Fighters
The Herleven Heavy Fighters (or HHF) are an unusual regiment in several ways, most notably because while they have excellent gear they are notoriously under supplied in terms of food and vehicles, and because they are raised from multiple worlds, one being the agri world Quinius, the other, the Astartes homeworld of Herleven. Origin Within the Herleven system are three inhabited planets, Herleven for which the system is named being the homeworld of the Angels of Rebirth, Petros, the moon of Herleven converted into a forge world of the Adeptus Mechanicus, and Quinius, a Agri world who's produce supports Petros and a number of other planets within the sector. The Angels of Rebirth space marines serve as the defacto rulers of the system despite having no technical authority over Petros or Quinius. In late M37 the Chapter Master of the Angels of Rebirth desired to do more for the Imperium but could not find a means. While the population of Herleven was unusually high for a death world, they could not recruit beyond 10 companies of 100. This led the Chapter Master of the Angels of Rebirth to feel that his planet was not doing all it could to aid the Imperium in its wars. To this end he began to petion the High Lords of Terra for permission to raise a regiment for the Astra Militarum from the population of Herleven. Despite his desire to aid the Imperium being noble in origin, his proposal was met with resistance. Roboute Gulliman had split the many military forces of the Imperium to prevent another rebellion like the Horus Heresy from being possible again and the High Lords did not want a Space Marine chapter to have it's own Imperial Guard regiment. After nearly two full centuries of petitioning the High Lords granted his request with strict conditions. The regiments would be raised from both Herleven and the excess population of Quinius. No regiment would have more than a third of it's soldiers from Herleven to distance themselves from the Astartes homeworld. The Angels of Rebirth would play no part whatsoever in raising the regiments. The Regiments would behave exactly like any other regiment and be under the control of the Astra Militarum with the Space Marines having no influence in their deployment. 'Starving Nobles' After receiving permission to raise a regiment, the foundries of Herleven as well as it's orbiting moon, the Forge World Petros, assembled a vast amount of weapons and other equipment while sending a request to the local leaders of the Departmento Munitorum to handle the supplying of rations and vehicles (Chimeras, Sentinels and the like). While the Departmento Munitorum agreed, the paperwork was confused in the process and has resulted in virtually no vehicles and very little food being supplied to the regiment and has somehow persisted throughout the centuries with no one correcting the mistake. This resulted in the Herleven Heavy Fighters more or less being given a large quantity of equipment when they were first assembled and have few resupplies since. Thus while much of their gear is of good quality it is often centuries old, having been carefully maintained with new parts scavenged from battlefields. To help counter this the Regiment has become expert in maintaining their gear with the knowledge that if it will take often decades to replace if not kept functioning. If any guardsman or woman breaks or loses their gear they are severely punished. Even with those safeguards however, gear is inevitably lost or destroyed in the course of war and to make up for it the regiment resorts to stripping the corpse of any guardsmen who die, even those from other regiments, of their gear. This often has to be done in the midst of battle as many regiments prefer to keep their gear. For food the regiment has extremely strict rationing and is skilled in hunting and foraging. When worst comes to worst they are not above begging for rations from other regiments or stealing. All this gives them a poor reputation as untrustworthy allies, somewhat unfairly as they are good soldiers on the battlefield with unquestioning faith in the God-Emperor. Sex The fact that most of the best men of Herleven try to join the Angels of Rebirth Astartes and men are considered more important for farming crops leads to there to be more women than men in the Regiment (averages between 65%-75%) and the ratio of male to female officers is similar. Recruitment and Training Most recruits from both worlds are 17-18 years old when they join. Unknown outside the regiment is the fact that the majority of the recruits from Herleven are people who are discovered to possess genes incompatible with the Angels of Rebirth gene-seed. If they stayed on Herleven they would not be allowed to marry or have children to prevent them from passing on their genes. Therefore a good number of recruits hope to settle on a different world where they can have a family. Most of the training takes place on Quinius where over a period of five months the recruits are trained in the usage and care of their equipment as well as the majority of their combat maneuvers. After this the next four months are spent on Herleven training to be able to work in both desert and arctic conditions. Organization Currently 15 regiments are active throughout the galaxy. The regiment follows a standard command chain as most other regiments, with each regiment split into 15 companies each spit into 3 platoons of 5 squads. The only difference is the title Master being used instead of Colonel. As a whole the Regiment is split into three groups, Mounted squadss, Armored advance, and scavengers. Each platoon contains 3 Armored Advance squads, 1 Mounted squad, and 1 scavenger squad meaning each regiment has 120 Armored squads, 40 heavy weapon, and 40 scavenger squads. Mounted squads The mounted squads heavy weapons mounted on stands as their name suggests. Most commonly used are Plasma cannons, Heavy Bolters, and Lascannons. Most mounted squad guardsmen will be armored with at least sections of carapace armor or Wyrm armor over their environmental survival suits. Armored Advance teams The heavy infantry for which they were named and the most numerous, the Armored Advance teams are squads of Infantry wearing full sets of Wyrm armor. While weaker than Astartes power armor, the wyrm armor nonetheless enhances the strength of the wearer enough to wield heavier weapons such as Bolters (modified for non-augmented humans) and missile launchers. Each team will also have a guardsman trained to wear MkII.Wyrm armor which augments their strength and weight enough to use heavy weapons like Lascannons and Heavy Bolters at the cost of decreased mobility and flexibility. This sections use of a weak form of power armor and heavy weapons is what lead to their nickname as 'Astartes rejects' as they while they are stronger than the average guardsman they are still vastly inferior to true Astartes or even scout marines. Almost all soldiers from Herleven fall into these teams making up half of the teams. Scavenger teams A necessary creation due to their lack of reliable resupplies, the Scavenger teams include the regiments quartermasters as well as medics. While armed with lasguns they are not typically front line fighters and instead are deployed to retrieve supplies and gear from the fallen. When the regiment is not fighting they spend their time scavenging food from wherever their deployed and repainting gear 'retrieved' from other regiments. Wargear Standard Infantry Equipment When they were founded the chapter was given a large amount of infantry equipment to start and little else. Over the centuries they have maintained this gear with a fervor to match the Tech Priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Often the gear used by any given solider has been used and repaired by dozens of predecessors. It is rare for new equipment to be issued and much of it goes to the officers. Others use equipment scavenged from other regiments. They do however have some relatively unique equipment made only in the Harkon sector where Herleven is located. * environmental survival suit- As a Death World Herleven's environments mostly fall into two types, Arctic forests and the crystal deserts, instead of providing uniforms each trooper is given an Environmental Survival suit. Even before the founding of the regiment the Forge World Petros orbiting Herleven produced these suits based around controlling temperature and retaining moisture for the Nomadic tribes that wander outside the 7 cities. Modifying them to function as armor as well was simple for the Forge World and has made the Herleven Heavy fighters excellent at fighting in extreme temperatures. Every trooper from the Master of the regiment to the lowest private has one and it is the only piece of equipment they have plenty of. Often it is supplemented by draping loose cloth around it to add additional weather gear. * Combat Knife * Frag or Krak Grenade * Dog Tags * Basic Toolkit- A set of rudimentary tools used to take apart common objects found in the field. Mostly used to maintain the soldiers lasgun or bolter. * Rechargeable Lamp Pack- A sturdy and reliable glow-globe, it is capable of providing a strong yellowish light for up to five or six hours. While in theory every soldier should have one, the Regiment only receives enough to supply two or three soldiers in every squad. * Grooming Kit- Basic utensils used to maintain cleanliness and sanitation. * 1 week rations- One of the less supplied items, the regiment will only ever have enough to supply its soldiers for about a week at any given time, leading them to rely on scavenging or trading with other regiments. * Mess Kit and Water Canteen * Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer- A standard-issue Imperial text that covers a vast variety of topics, this book is possessed by all members of the Imperial Guard as part of their standard-issue equipment. The Primer is a basic guide that details everything a Guardsman needs to know: principles and regulations of the Imperial Guard, issued arms, attire, apparatus, and equipment, basic battlefield policy and Imperial Guard organisation and structure, elementary battlefield medical instructions, and a detailed guide on the foes of the Imperium. Armored squads'' '' * Wyrm armor- The other form of equipment from Petros the regiment receives. Wyrm armor is a weak form powered armor with equivalent durability to good quality carapace armor. The design is based on the Sand Wyrms that plague the Crystal deserts and has a scale pattern of Plasteel and Armaplas scales overlaid with thin plates of heat dispersing material and is lighter and more flexible than the standard carapace armor. In addition the armor has electrically motivated fiber bundles that mimic the wearers movement and augments their strength to a degree. Great Wyrm armor sports thicker and larger scale plates and more artificial muscles to make the user stronger and more durable at the cost of mobility. Both styles are vulnerable at joints where the artificial muscles are exposed. Only officers and Armored Advance teams always have a full set, Mounted Squads guardsmen will often have at least the chest plate, often with scavenged carapace armor covering arms legs and head. Over the years new variants of the armor have been made so not all regiments of the HHF look alike. * Godwyn-Ignis Bolter- Made by Forge World Ignis, the Godwyn-Ignis bolter is a variant of the Godwyn pattern bolter designed to be used by regular humans. Currently only used by the Herleven Heavy fighters and a few Adeptus Sororitas Orders and the occasional Inquisitor. * 5 magazines worth of Bolter Ammunition Mounted Squads * Flak Armor- The most common type of armour used by Imperial Guard forces is Flak Armour, and it is standard-issue combat gear to the countless millions of Imperial Guardsmen who fight on the Emperor's behalf across the galaxy. Many layers of ablative and impact absorbent material go into making each suit, enough to deflect or negate most low-level attacks such as small arms, shrapnel, and proximity blasts. When ever the Scavenger squads can get a hold of pieces of Carapace Armor it will generally serve to replace it. * Laspistol * 3 Lasgun power Packs Scavenger Squads * M35 Lasgun * 5 Lasgun Power Packs * Flak Armor Notable Campaigns * Billious wars (453.M38)- '''The First campaign since the Regiments founding that involved all active regiments (at the time 21). While the warzone was large enough that all 21 were never all at the same battlefield, every commander they served under commended them for their reliability and good results. * Alliance War Notable Regiments It should be noted that more than 15 regiments have been raised from Herleven, unlike other regiments the individual regiments numbers are based solely on when they were raised with 1st being oldest active regiment, 2nd second oldest active regiment and so forth. Records show that in the 4 millennia they have been active a total of 424 regiments have been raised. Currently due to losses from the increase of war in the 41st millennium only 15 are still active with other having been destroyed or suffered so great loss they were simply merged with other regiments. Herleven Heavy Fighters 1st Regiment A.K.A. "Old Guard" The First Regiment raised, somehow even after 4 millennia the regiment has never been wiped out. As the oldest regiment their war gear has been salvaged from a thousand battlefields and is of such verity that it makes it difficult to keep inventory. Herleven Heavy Fighters 4th Regiment A.K.A. "Missing Regiment" Referred to as the most unlucky regiment in Herleven history, they are referred as missing due to the fact that they are missing from most of the official paperwork and as a result get no resupplies. They symbolize what most think of when they hear of the HHF. Unfortunately during the third war of Armageddon the regiment was scattered by a powerful Ork offence and half the regiment is still missing. Herleven Heavy Fighters 5th Regiment A.K.A. "Tank boys" When offered a reward to retrieve a wrecked Shadowsword tank for the Mechanicus the Master of the 5th regiment accepted. After losing a whole platoon to retrieve the behemoth the Mechanicus messed up the reward mistaking the Armored Advance for a Armor division instead of Heavy infantry and gave them 3 dozen of Leman Russes, Chimera, and Sentinels. Thus they ended up with more armored vehicles than an other of the regiment and have adapted their strategies accordingly. Herleven Heavy Fighters 7th Regiment A.K.A. "Frozen" Drawn from the Arctic Cities, and even some of the Nomadic Tribes, the HHF 7th Regiment is particularly good at cold weather engagements and have even become famous for their skill at ice tunneling. Even other Regiments with a history of arctic warfare, such as the Vallhallan Ice Warriors, respect their skill. Herleven Heavy Fighters 9th Regiment A.K.A. "Lucky" The yin to the 4th Regiments yang, the 9th regiment is legendary for the sheer amount of luck it benefits from. Company's lost in the desert stumble upon hidden oasis, they fight alongside Space Marines with astonishing regularity, and the average life expectancy in the 9th is 3 years longer than any of the other regiments. Herleven Heavy Fighters 13th Regiment A.K.A. "Death walking" A relatively new Regiment, the 13th quickly gained a reputation as notoriously efficient as well as shameless soldiers. Seemingly unconcerned about others opinions about them, there are dozens of reports of theft in every warzone they fight in, particularly of quality and hard-hitting weapons and ammunition. To them the only sane course of action is to annihilate the enemy as quickly as possible, though any means available. Preferring to use heavier weapons, even when it's not practical, the 13th Regiment abandons the typical organization and tactics of the rest of the regiment and acts as a horde of heavily armed heavy infantry. While many Imperial commanders distrust them for their rash theft, they cannot deny the effectiveness of their strategy. Vehicles As the Regiment started with virtually no vehicles, most that they have are scavenged wreaks revived by Tech priests. Unfortunately the regiment has very few personal trained to operate these vehicles and most are used as transports for the Heavy Infantry and officers. Most are either Taroxes or Chimeras. Tactics As heavy infantry the HHF is skilled at fighting light infantry, most forms of heavy infantry and light tanks. With their environmental suits and specialized training they excel in extreme temperature zones. Standard tactics involve forming a crescent of Armored Advance supported from behind by mounted teams with scavenger teams retrieving gear and doing supply runs. Commissariat The HHF has something of an odd relationship with Commissars. While they respect the authority of the Commissars and often their own devotion and sense of duty makes the more harsh means of encouragement unnecessary, the Commissar is still viewed as an outsider. It is a rare Commissar who can bond with the infantry or earn the trust of the officers. Commissars who try and suppress or openly oppose the scavenging nature of the regiments end up hated, and in the 13th they often end up dead. Like all those who take to the field with the HHF, if a Commissar falls in battle their gear will be scavenged and put to use by the Guardsmen. It's said that most of the HHF officer powerswords came from fallen Commissars. Notable members '''Master Farris Rod (998.M37-076.M38)- First Master (colonel) of the regiment. While he worked hard to try and fix the errors that had created the resupply issues he eventually gave up and instituted the scavenging policies. Captain Kriss Winsor (002-070.M38)- Captain of the 12th company in the 7th Regiment who won renown on the Icy death world Gallens-3. Leading her company through ice caves she managed to flank and ambush 13 Chaos Marine squads over the course of 2 weeks. When Astartes reinforcements arrived they found the guard still holding fast and the foe weakened by the constant raids and easily defeated. Corporal Ana King (567-621.M39)- Separated from the rest of her platoon after an attack from Orks, she survived in Ork held territory for over a week before repairing her vox caster. Upon learning she was too deep in enemy territory for any chance of rescue or escape she sacrificed herself by causing a distraction near the Ork's main camp long enough for the rest of the guard to shore up their defenses to withstand the next attack. 2nd Lieutenant Nick Falmanns (962-987.M41)- After losing half his men to Necrons during the Alliance War he inspired his men to charge the Necron line in a suicidal attempt to kill a Necron Lord with a Melta charge. Against all odds the plan succeeded though he died in the attempt along with most of the rest of his platoon. Held as a Hero of the Astra Militarum for doing the impossible his story is a common one used to inspire guardsmen across the Imperium. 2nd Lieutenant Lexian Luithian (967.M41-)- A private in Lieutenant Falmanns' platoon, Lexian was the one who hit the Necron Lord with the Melta charge, burning off her right arm in the process. After the battle she was promoted to her deceased superiors rank and returned to Herleven for officer training and to get a biotic arm replacement. While there, tales of her actions attracted the attention of Inquisitor Justin Dall of the Ordo Malleus. After interviewing her he decided to recruit her into his retinue to serve as his bodyguard. Relations As a whole the Herleven Heavy Fighters have a mixed relationship with other regiments. Some get along well, generally those with gear unsuitable for stripping, while more similar regiments prefer to avoid them or accuse them of stealing. Allies * Catachan Jungle Fighters- The HHF regiments maintain an interesting relationship with the Catachan Jungle Fighters. Both are from Death Worlds which could hardly be more different, icy cold and dry deserts of Herleven compared to the wet and deadly jungles of Catachan. For the most part they maintain a friendly relationship boasting that between them they could fight in any environment, but more recently a intense rivalry has formed between them over which Regiment has the toughest fighters. * Zephyrus Drop Regiments- Two more radically different regiments could be imagined but they work together well. The Cover fire and greater durability of the HHF squads, the Drop Troops suffer significantly less casualties. Further aiding their relation, the Zephyrus Drop Regiments gear is so different from what the Herleven Heavy Fighters use that there is no point in their salvaging it. * Blood Ravens- Surprisingly, the Astartes they fight alongside most of the time are the somewhat infamous (or famous depending who you talk to) Blood Ravens. For reasons unknown the two Imperial Forces have grown close and have fought together on dozens of different worlds. Enemies * Death Korp of Kreig- The Callous disregard for their own lives that all Kriegers have horrifies the HHF as does their tolerance for casulties that would destroy the Herleven regiments. What brought them into conflict however is an incident over scavenging the corpses of Kriegers as they themselves typically do that. Ever since the Death Korp treats the HHF with great suspicion. Quotes By them About them (Add your own) Category:Imperium Category:Imperial Guard Regiments Category:Heavy Infantry Regiments Category:Imperial Guard